


Ma Mua

by Dracoravebird



Series: We Know the Way [1]
Category: Moana (2016)
Genre: Crab Drider Tamatoa, Fights, Friends to Enemies, Gen, Headcanon Backstory, Non-Elective Amputation Not Performed By A Medical Professional, Pre-Canon, Pre-Movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:00:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26589268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dracoravebird/pseuds/Dracoravebird
Summary: "Before"Memories are a powerful thing. Good and bad, they can shape someone into who they are. And in Tamatoa's case, they taught him a very important lesson... Not everything lasts forever.
Relationships: Maui & Tamatoa (Disney)
Series: We Know the Way [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1934428
Comments: 28
Kudos: 9





	1. Aukati Pakia Iti

**Author's Note:**

> Friendly reminder from the tags. In this, Tamatoa is a crab drider type creature, so human from the hips-up + crab from the hips-down, and large enough that a human could sit in the palm of his hand. Inspired by the following artworks, which are NOT mine, and I'm NOT sponsored. Just a fan.
> 
> https://66.media.tumblr.com/88e9769c0f1b81a5cf06b0a3571e7d75/tumblr_oi9atmwcet1rk9rd3o1_r1_640.png  
> https://i.pinimg.com/originals/78/95/0c/78950c995d5648456881189571a6e1d9.png  
> https://68.media.tumblr.com/e67d5e7c5c7e5908dec4db5e225a4e47/tumblr_ojmwggCwhL1qdwpa0o1_500.jpg  
> https://78.media.tumblr.com/89271cf6fa5a4be2d8614dc19c014ac2/tumblr_on2c7vXczF1tava2vo1_500.png  
> https://thismightyneed.tumblr.com/post/155743854796/halfys-thismightyneed-halfys  
> https://68.media.tumblr.com/0599aacb147d9360d361966fd8fb0905/tumblr_okx8ekehWn1qdwpa0o1_r1_500.jpg  
> https://calicot-zc.tumblr.com/post/158164689293/eeehheee-little-gift-for-thismightyneed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Drab Little Crab"
> 
> AN: Not a whole lot of plot to this one. Just what I imagine Tamatoa’s backstory being. So headcanon, I guess? IDK.

Tamatoa’s early days were… hazy, at best. But he tended to think remembering every minute detail would be like humans remembering every facet of their infancy. Not that he reminisced often – he didn’t – but he sometimes had dreams that were patchwork half-rememberings.

What he knew for sure was that crab monsters such as him started their lives off much like common crabs. That is, eggs washed out to sea, hatching, swept away as they molted into fry, and then found land and became terrestrial. Granted, crab monster fry were already the size of a grown mundane coconut crab.

It was a terrifying way to start life. Alone, in the endless blue, in the dark, surrounded by hungry mouths.

He was the only one who made it to shore. His siblings had been picked off quickly. But he had been the fastest swimmer… and now, he’d never swim again.

The initial molt brought him fully into his monstrous form. Human from the hips up, crab from the hips down. Though, he was small. His human portion was that of a human toddler, his lower half only on the upper scale of a normal coconut crab.

Moreover, he was alone. Here. On a seemingly endless island full of strange noises and weird smells.

He was terrified. And he believed he had every right to be. The only words ever spoken to him thus far were hazy at best. A dim recollection of sound that he’d later learn was his mother whispering “Good luck,” as if that made a lick of difference, while he and his siblings were being swept away.

When he saw a human for the first time, he was a couple years older, and he was confused. What had happened to their lower bodies? What had happened to them? But then they saw him. They approached and he backed away. Their voices were soft. When they saw he was different from them, they recoiled in surprise, before offering him a piece of mango. Watching the human wedge the fruit open with a thumb made getting at the fruit easier, from then on. But they didn’t stay long. Grabbed fruit and water, and left on a raft.

Left him there. Whether they thought a parent was nearby or they simply didn’t want to risk taking him, he wasn’t sure, but he stopped caring after a while. He had more important things to worry about.

And he remembered a childhood habit. Walking onto a beach, sitting down, and shimmying his body so he was halfway buried in warm sand. It felt nice. Felt great, actually. Relaxing and comfortable. Unnecessary, since monsters were warm-blooded like humans.

Some decades later, when humans showed up and built a village, he figured language out in pieces by listening, and then practicing by himself. He only remembered that because there had been the occasional human or demigod who asked where his accent came from. Part of him felt special. It was his, and like him, it was unique.

Every molt brought out richer colors in his shell. After a couple centuries of molting every single year, it started to slow down considerably, until he only had to once every decade, and then once every century, and even fewer afterwards.

The first time he saw treasure was from a shipwreck. He had been combing the beach for buried clams and other goodies when he saw something gleaming in the grit. Scooping it up, he found it was a coin. A lovely, gleaming, flattened piece of gold.

He was smitten. He had never seen anything like it. Sure, his home was beautiful and much like a little paradise, but this? This was beyond it. He had looked around and found a few more, before taking them back to his den and making a soft little bed of moss to place them on. Sometimes, he’d just spend spans of time staring at them or polishing them. More shipwrecks over the years – humans couldn’t seem to get around that one reef by the island’s northeast side – brought him more treasure. And he’d admit without hesitation he had helped himself when villagers were asleep at night and too tired to have hauled found goods out of their canoes.

It only occurred to him to use shinies as bait when he watched a fish leap out of the water at a reflection to try and snatch it up. Holding a bigger piece of treasure in a pincer and dangling it in the water had yielded him a rather large barracuda for dinner. And it only occurred to him he could stick his treasure to his body when he had been appraising his new addictions, tripped, and landed on a mound of coins. The pleasant friction against his dactyls and shell was like a little massage. It felt wondrous. So his sand-baths had turned into coin-baths, and he decided to carry his favorite pieces around with him, on him, so everyone could admire his collection as much as he did.

He learned shinies also served as useful bait for other monsters intruding on his turf, and for various animals. And when he reached a certain age when his colors became more vibrant and the tides of certain seasons began affecting him, he realized how beautifully his treasure accented and contrasted his coloration. And the sheer volume of his collection spoke volumes of his resourcefulness. He was brilliant, handsome, strong, shiny... If he ever ran into a female, there would be no way she'd be able to resist seduction.

When he'd met Maui, they'd been ready to kill one another. How they ended up becoming friends and travelling companions, sharing a large camakau, sailing the world together... Part of him remembered, though he buried the rest of it. He remembered the arguments, usually revolving around him wanting to keep the treasures they found and Maui wanting to give it to the humans he so often strove to impress. Looking back, Tamatoa regretted not heeding his instincts. That Maui would always pick humans over their friendship. But he never regretted some of the barbed words he'd given Maui in exchange for receiving his own. Not once. Not anymore. 

The first time Tamatoa had eaten a human, it was for curiosity’s sake, and an act of temper, when they had stopped off at his island to grab supplies and check on the villages. The idiot human had walked into his burrow, trying to steal from him, and was caught red-handed. The mangled body torn apart by hands and pincers alike, staining his skin and chitin red, made him wonder. And he was just enraged enough to reach the point of impulsive decisions.

It wouldn't be his first choice given the potential backlash, but it was passable as food. For him, anyhow. But rather than risk retaliation, he tended to leave humans alone, unless they made the same mistake as the first one. NO ONE stole from him.

Looking back, he doubted Maui ever found out about those few instances. It might’ve made push come to shove a lot sooner than it had.

\---------


	2. Halawai Mua, Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "First Meeting, Part I"
> 
> Tamatoa never liked intruders. Humans he could ignore. Another monster, he could not. Unfortunately, he couldn't really ignore a certain demigod who showed up to play hero, either.
> 
> AN: This is sometime after Maui pulled up more islands and pulled the sun closer, but before he stole fire. Tamatoa is over 500 and Maui is over 100. Somewhere around there.

With three portals to Lalotai within swimming distance of the island, it was no real surprise there would be occasional intruders in Tamatoa’s territory. Regardless, it never failed to irritate him.

Humans stayed away from his domain. Well, save for a few who came to steal his treasures and never returned. But now, they were too scared to leave their precious villages. And he knew why. He had been on his way back to his burrow for the night when he caught the scent of blood on the wind. A lot of it. No mystery involved. Several humans had died while out after dark.

And trouble with humans would inevitably mean trouble for himself. Once the intruder ran out of humans, it would come after his preferred prey, and then him if it wanted his den. No, best to just kill the interloper and be done with it.

After so many centuries on Motu Putiputi, he knew virtually every hidden place on it. Knew the best fishing spots, basking spots, and hiding spots. Not that he was dumb enough to walk into a dark den to challenge it on its home turf. But he needed a place to start.

The beast had an acrid, musty stench. Somewhere between algae muck and rotten bananas. A smell that dredged up washed-out memories from just before he had arrived here. He hated it.

As the sun began to set on the second day, Tamatoa kept his glow doused. Anetanne swished in front of him, he continued tracking the intruder. And then he detected a second intruder. Smelling vaguely human, but off.

A war-cry pierced the air.

Tamatoa whirled aside. A giant fishhook slammed the ground like a club. His skin prickled and antennae pinned. That blow could’ve done some damage. The hook spun in the man’s hands. Letting off a bright flare of his markings, Tamatoa lunged a pincer.

The man let out a surprised shout when the hook was flipped up, out of his hands, and landed squarely in the crab monster’s waiting grasp. Said crab monster promptly hurled the hook into the forest with all his strength. The hook disappeared over the tree-line and landed with a crash somewhere far off.

Temper bubbling, Tamatoa opened his pincers wide and hovered his hands to hip-level, ready to grab. “Another human who can’t keep their grubby hands to themselves?”

“Could ask you the same thing, crab cake.” The man retorted, taking a battle-ready stance.

“I’ll only say it once, man. Back. Off.”

“Not gonna happen. I told the villagers I’d solve their little problem. I think they’d appreciate the treasure, too.”

“You idiot… I’m not the bloody maneater that’s been harassing them!”

“And I think you’re lying.”

He didn’t have time for this. Tamatoa lunged.

The man feinted to one side and ducked under his front left dactyl. Tensing, Tamatoa backed up and folded his leg inwards. A grunt left his attacker when he kneed him in the chest. He hated that about humans. They knew to try and flip a crab(monster) over. Circling round, keeping his pincers facing the man, Tamatoa scowled.

The wind shifted. That acrid, rotten scent was closer. He quickly doused his glow and backed into the treeline, disappearing. This man would be suitable bait, and honestly, it would serve him right.

A figure burst free of the trees. Tall and thin. A blur of dark feathers and red glowing speckles on the neck. Razor sharp beak snapping, it lunged at the man. Tamatoa watched him dodge and move, watched how he carried himself in a fight. Then got a cold chill when he caught the creature’s beak and spread its maw so wide the jaw broke with a snap. The bird screamed and struggled. It managed to wriggle free and ran…

Neck-first into a waiting pincer. The bones snapped like delicate sand-dollar under Tamatoa’s considerable strength. He saw, now, it was a mataku – what humans called terror birds. Mostly extinct on the surface, but he presumed these menaces thrived in the dark below. That stench he had picked up was on the wind, but not coming from this beast. It wasn’t the killer.

“Thanks for the bait.” Grinning, Tamatoa stepped out of the shadows, marks brightening. “And the dance lessons. Not so badass without that hook of yours, are you, man?”

The figure grit his teeth.

His grin fell, expression going dark. “I suggest you stay out of my way.”

Marks going out, he navigated his way back to his den. He had a trap to plan.

\---------

He had ate some of the mataku – he wasn’t going to waste a good kill, and the savory flesh was quite nice on the palate – before plucking the rest and hauling the carcass out to the forest after a nap. It was noon, the sun high. Perfect time to set his little trap.

He took it to another clearing heavy with the stench of death. On the intruder’s apparently preferred path. There, he dropped the body and drew a large, ivory claw he had whittled and sharpened into a curved blade, the perfect dagger. Plenty of cuts drew out more blood, more scent. He was upwind, so he knew the intruder – assuming it was a more feral form of monster – would assume he’d made a kill and would be interested in scavenging.

“Hey, crab cake!”

Tamatoa froze, and the turned to see the man from before standing at the other end of the clearing. Once again, he had his hook, though it rested over one shoulder while its owner regarded him somewhere between curiously and suspiciously.

“Call me that ONE more time,” Tamatoa growled, “and I’m going to MURDER you.”

“Gimme a name and I’ll use that instead.” He lowered the hook and leaned against it.

For a long moment, he hesitated. Then, he huffed and returned to his task.

“Guess you don’t mind it that much—”

“Tamatoa.”

“There. Was that so hard?”

Again, he paused and turned, his pincers giving a click of annoyance, blood smeared up to his elbows from working on his trap. He was glad he’d removed his rings and bracelets for this.

“Maui. Demigod of the Wind and Sea, Hero—”

“Go tell someone who cares. I’m busy.”

That made the man, demigod, sputter.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” he absolutely was NOT sorry, “did you expect me to welcome you and buddy up? You enjoy being the bait?”

“You seem to have an idea what’s out there.”

“Ah. That’s it, then.” Tamatoa snorted with a shake of his head as he stood. “I have a hunch. And that’s none of your business. If you really want to help your precious humans, go guard their village and stop any more idiots from wandering after dark.”

“Why? Afraid I’ll kill it before you do?” Maui grinned.

A scoffing laugh left him. “Please. You can barely fight. Giving away your position, losing your weapon… Rather sloppy, if you ask me.”

His grin fell.

“I’d expect a demigod to provide a challenge. Not a nuisance.”

Then, his expression darkened.

“Ooh. Struck a nerve, have I?” Tamatoa then grinned, turning to face him.

And the idiot demigod dropped his hook and began to perform a haka. He had, personally, never understood it. Humans did it to intimidate one another. But monsters like him didn’t need it. If he had ever walked up to another monster and danced a haka, he’d have been dead a long time ago. Before Maui could even finish the dance, a quick sweep of a dactyl had him on his back.

“Was that supposed to scare me?” He said breezily with a smirk. “I’m positively SHAKING.”

Maui rolled to the side, grabbing his hook. He swung it at the crab monster’s legs, but said monster darted aside.

“You get even more sloppy when you’re angry!”

A flurry of attacks came. Both with the hook and shapeshifting. A hawk, a boar, a huge cat… He was determined. But he scarcely landed any meaningful blows. And those blows got harder with every taunt Tamatoa flung his way. When he began losing interest, Tamatoa batted the hook away and made to grab the demigod.

But Maui caught his pincers from beneath. Tamatoa may have had him pinned to the ground, but he couldn’t grab him without risk of letting him up. He gave a warning growl as the demigod squeezed hard. Just hard enough to him to feel through his shell.

A stick snapped behind him.

Tamatoa whirled.

The impact shoved the breath from him. His dactyls raked up grass and dirt to either side of Maui as the crab monster was shoved backwards and nearly pushed over. A clawed hand had grabbed his wrist. His other hand rose to grab a wrist to keep more claws off his face. His pincers had been grabbed from above. Again, unable to pinch.

It was a sloth monster. A massive one at that. Over twice Tamatoa’s own formidable size. Jagged teeth bared, it shrieked. It continued trying to flip him. He twisted his caught hand from its grasp, snatching the wrist of its former captor.

“I don’t think so!” Tamatoa shouted, digging his legs into the ground and hauling the beast upwards.

It squealed as he threw it up and over his head. The sloth monster crashed to the ground in a heap as he whirled to face it. It scrambled up and made to run. A war-cry sounded and passed Tamatoa by. Maui threw his hook. The beast’s wrist was pinned to a tree, which the hook promptly turned to stone. Shriek, scream, and claw as it might, it was caught.

A vindictive grin spread across Tamatoa’s face as he stalked closer to it. Whether he had thought better of it or didn’t want to risk his ire further, Maui stayed out of the way as the crab monster moved behind the sloth demon. Pincers rose. There was a sickening, wet crack as the sloth monster’s neck was broken, followed by a nauseating ripping sound, and a thud of a severed head hitting the grass.

“Happy, now?” Maui asked as he returned the tree to it’s usual treeness and withdrew his hook from its bark.

“No. Because that’s the second monster on my turf that isn’t the real problem.” Tamatoa huffed, leering at him. “And you’re still here.”

He rested a hand on his hip with a well-duh expression on his face.

“What do you want?” Exasperation crept into his voice.

“Well… I figured we could, y’know. Pool our assets.” Something about how the demigod had glanced away before casting him a mischievous little grin didn’t sit well with him.

Tamatoa’s eyes narrowed. “You expect me to buy that?”

“Shiny things DO make good bait.”

“If anyone’s going to be bait for anything, it’s you and your obnoxious war-cry! I’m not interested. So, for the final time,” he leaned closer and then shouted his annoyance at the demigod, “STAY OUT OF MY WAY!”

“Okay, okay! Sheesh!” Maui stepped aside as the crab monster passed him.

\---------

More villagers had gotten killed. Why they kept leaving their homes, Tamatoa had no idea and little if any sympathy.

What mattered was that he now knew what was attacking. Encroaching. Invading.

A mo’o. One big enough to fit Tamatoa in its mouth, no less. The colossal lizard had made its home in the wooded valley northeast of his own territory. Perfect walking distance of his den and the village. How it had hauled its bulk up from Lalotai, he didn’t know, but it didn’t much matter. What mattered was figuring out how to kill the stupid thing.

The fight with the sloth monster troubled him. Sloth monsters were usually smaller than him by a vast margin. He’d never seen one bigger than himself, and that fight very well could’ve hurt. He was NOT prepared to fight a mo’o, as much as it bothered him to even admit that much to himself.

He was beginning to second-guess his temper and his decision to send the demigod away. Him and his war-cry would be decent bait. Tamatoa sneered at the idea of hunting him down and asking. But, as it turned out, that wasn’t necessary.

“Busy?”

Gazing up where he sat braiding vines into a rope, he cocked a brow the demigod’s way. “I’m fairly certain I gave you instructions to go away.”

“Didn’t work out.” Maui tossed something his way.

Tamatoa caught it one-handedly. His eyes widened when he saw it was a string of black pearls, bound neatly and spaced with tight knots and three tassels from the zenith where they could hang over the chest. It was beautiful. Captivating. It would make such a lovely accent piece in his den.

“The chief said there’s more where that came from, if you help me out and we work together.”

Eyes narrowing, he leered at the demigod. “I suppose we could get this done a lot faster. But one rule, first.”

Maui rolled his eyes, expecting said rule for him to be quiet or not do his war-cry. That wasn’t what he got. Tamatoa stood and prowled toward him.

“If I catch you stealing anything from me, I’ll KILL you.” Tamatoa growled. “Understand?”

“Yep. Got it.”

“Good.” He sat back down and resumed his task, legs folded neatly under his shell.

“Anyway,” Maui moved closer and sat beside him, “I have a plan. We—”

Tamatoa scooted the demigod away from himself with a dactyl. “I’m already working on a plan. As soon as I finish this rope, we’re going to find the biggest boulder we can—”

“Wait, wait, wait. A deadfall trap? Really? You think this thing’s gonna fall for that?” He grinned, as if ready to laugh.

“No. I think it’ll fall for the trap that comes after the false sense of security, AFTER it springs the deadfall.”

This seemed to pique his interest.

\---------


	3. Halawai Mua, Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An arrangement is made, a friendship sparked. But at what future cost?

Predictably, it had been a disaster. A case of no-no-no-no-yes.

They had laid the trap, and then watched the trap. The idea of tribute from the villagers curbed Tamatoa’s temper a bit, and the demigod seemed to be making conscious strides no to be too annoying. The clearing was set, deadfall placed, bait set out – some fish and what remained of the dead mataku. After, it was a matter of time.

The winds were strong, tonight. Both were upwind, as was the village. From the lack of fresh scent, Tamatoa surmised the mo’o was downwind. A dangerous premise. But he could work with that.

As the moon drew high, there came a rumbling, ambling gait that Tamatoa could feel in his legs and sense in the air. He resisted the urge to move, restless, and waited. He could tell Maui was in position, waiting for the signal after having argued about it for gods only knew how long.

It emerged around midnight. The mo’o was slavering, tongue flicking as it lumbered forth toward the pile of free food. It stepped across the tripwire, which broke with a noisome crack. The trees it had been tethered to fell, and the bolder fell. It landed squarely BESIDE the lizard monster. It cast the rock an offended look, before its gaze returned to the mound of food.

Now, it hesitated, but that was expected. Tamatoa didn’t worry, until it walked PAST the bait. Straight toward him. He flashed the end of one antennae, the one closer to Maui. The signal.

Maui burst from the tree-line with a war-cry, and took the form of a hawk. Aiming talons for the beast’s eyes. It turned, snapping wildly. A cry left Maui as he was grabbed and thrown aside. Glow flaring to lift, Tamatoa rushed the mo’o. His pincers grabbed its maw from the side, clamping it shut. The mo’o bellowed through a shut mouth. Trees went flying as it whirled. It shook, trying to throw him off. Holding onto the ground was hopeless. So, he held onto its mouth. Strong closing power, weak opening power.

But its tongue remained. The appendage flicked out, curved, and slapped wetly across his back. Tamatoa let off a ragged shout at the burn of its boiling hot, venomous spit. Said venom burned a path through his veins like a jellyfish sting. His grip started to slacken.

“Hit it!” He shouted. “NOW, PLEASE!”

Injury aside, Maui hefted himself up into the air as a hawk, and turned into a whale. He slammed down bodily over the mo’o, about the same size. The beast roared and twisted. 

Tamatoa was flung aside, thanking his lucky stars he landed right-way up.

Before it could bite, Maui had turned into a bug, evading snapping jaws and flailing tongue. He landed out in front of it, in human shape. Doing a haka.

“It’s too stupid to be intimidated, you idiot! HIT THE BLOODY THING!” Tamatoa rushed it again, this time grabbing the tail.

Both Tamatoa’s arms wrapped hard around it while his pincers grabbed. Trying to pinch or cut it off and bleed the beast. When it nearly lifted him into the air, he hooked his dactyls around a tree.

Maui had taken his advice. As it turned to confront the crab monster, Maui jammed his hook into its maw. A shriek pierced the air. Boiling hot blood sizzled against the grass when hook pierced lower jaw. With all the strength he could muster, he slammed the mo’o face first to the ground. Dirt and grass flew. He lifted it, and twisted, forcing the mo’o to turn onto its back or snap its neck.

Releasing its tail, Tamatoa charged the beast’s belly, knife brandished. Pincers squeezed belly scales apart to expose soft skin. One quick slash—The mo’o SCREAMED as it was gutted. One back leg slammed into Tamatoa. To his dismay, he stumbled and landed flat on his back, bits and bobs of his hoard scattering beneath him in the grass.

There was a shriek, a crunch, a rasp… and silence. He couldn’t see past his abdomen from this angle. His antennae swished. The air reeked of blood and acrid, sulfuric stench.

Footsteps came toward him, followed by Maui leaning against the tree by his shoulder. “Need a hand?”

“Well, if you’re offering.” Tamatoa huffed.

He held out a hand.

“Do you want me to hurt myself? Here…” He pointed to the lip of his shell, by his dactyls. “Just give me a push.”

Maui moved closer and got both hands under the lip of his shell, and levered him upwards. A grunt left Tamatoa as he landed firmly back on his legs, followed by a sigh as he surveyed their kill. The rush of success made the welt across his back sting less. Then, he saw how Maui had killed it. He had turned his hook and wrenched it up through the roof of the mo’o’s mouth. Clever.

“Well, your plan worked.” Maui smirked as he went to his hook and drew it free.

“Not so bad yourself, once you’re actually trying.” Tamatoa jabbed back, though it lacked bite. Then, he grew serious. “A bit of advice? NEVER do a haka in a fight with a monster. Understand? It means nothing to us.”

He cocked a brow. “I’m starting to figure that out.”

“Demigod or no, there are things scarier than YOU. Not that it’s very hard.” A coy grin crossed his face.

Seeing the joke for what it was, Maui only smiled and rolled his eyes. “C’mon. Let’s go tell the chief.”

\---------

Tamatoa had seldom been to the human villages. Once, to get a lavalava, and a sash for his hair. Besides that? Not really.

To be welcomed with claps, cheers, bows, and thanks? It was a damn weird sensation. He wasn’t sure whether or not he liked it, but he left that to Maui. The demigod seemed to eat up their praise like a fine meal, schmoozing with the people and whatnot.

That wasn’t where Tamatoa’s attention was. He remembered being promised treasure, and without being asked, the chief delivered. Not with a whole chest, but with a single golden goblet, which had fine artwork on the rim and a handle twined around a polished amethyst. It was beautiful, and he gladly accepted the payment for what it was. A crowning piece in his collection.

The following day, as he surveyed his back to figure out where he wanted to place it, he saw the demigod coming toward him.

“You, again?” The greeting lacked the malice or vitriol from before, replaced by intrigue and a splash of disbelief.

“Yeah. Expecting anyone else?” Maui snorted.

He scoffed. “Expecting no one, actually.” 

“Just curious, but what’s the deal with that?” He gestured at the crab monster’s back.

“Like your tattoos. I like to look good.” Tamatoa shrugged and finally found the perfect spot. Next to a coconut-sized white pearl, among some coins and a piece of carved ivory. Perfect. “So. Why are you here?”

He leaned against his hook. “You fight well.”

“And?”

“I could use a sparring partner. And I’m pretty sure you get bored, not being able to go anywhere.”

Tamatoa’s eyes narrowed at him.

“Look… It’s been a while since I’ve been in a fight that messy. I would’ve been in over my head.”

“So you want ME… to teach YOU… how to fight?”

“Spar with. Not teach. It’s not like that.”

He grinned deviously. “I’m flattered. But I have everything I need right here on my island.”

“But think about it! Think of the adventure! Think of the fame! Fans!”

The last one made him roll his eyes.

Then, Maui pulled his trump card. “The treasure.”

Three seconds ticked by before he leered at the demigod. “Oh?”

“Yeah. Humans hide treasure in crazy places! Monsters and other demigods, too! Think of all the cool stuff you’d get your hands on if you were travelling instead of staying put!”

He was tempted. Sorely tempted. He had never considered that, really. But the sound of waves not far off drew his mind back to a very real concern. “You are aware I can’t swim, right? You’re asking me to get on a boat and hope it holds me up.”

“My hokule'a’s big enough for two. It can take you.”

“I’m not convinced.”

“C’mon! I promise I won’t let you drown.” Maui laughed.

Tamatoa’s gaze trailed to his back. His newest addition made him wonder what other artifacts humans or others could make. He again looked to the demigod. “I’ll have to come back now and again. To hold down the fort. You understand.”

“Sure. Gotta make sure no one muscles in on your home. I get it. Especially after the mo’o.”

After a moment, he stood. “Fine, then. But half of the treasure we find is mine. Deal?” He held a hand out.

Maui shook it with a cheeky grin. “Deal.”

\---------


	4. Aloha, Motu Putiputi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Goodbye, Flower Island"
> 
> Tamatoa had lived here his whole life, and maintained a territory here even when he had spent the past 300 years adventuring with Maui. But it wasn't bound to last. Quite the opposite, in fact.

It felt good to be home. Tamatoa took a deep breath when he stepped off the hokule'a he and Maui shared, and helped drag it further onto the beach. It was noon or so, with plenty of time.

“We made good time.” Maui gave a self-satisfied grin.

“What can I say? I’m a great wayfinder.” Tamatoa smirked. “Was there ever any doubt we'd make it here, fast?”

He snorted. “Please. Without me doing the navigating, you’d end up over the edge of the world.”

“If by navigating you mean shapeshifting into a hawk and getting a birds-eye view. Which is cheating, by the by.” He laughed, hands on his hips.

“Ha, ha.” Maui rolled his eyes. “I’m gonna top off our supplies. Comin with?”

“Nah, man. I’ve been away for a while, now. Need to make sure my territory’s still mine.” Tamatoa shrugged with a dismissive wave, turning away. “You go on. We can make camp at my place.”

“See ya there.” With a flip of his hook, he took the shape of a hawk and soared off across the forest.

“Showoff!” Tamatoa shouted up at him with a grin before shaking his head and walking in the opposite direction.

Motu Putiputi was beautiful as ever. Midsummer, full bloom, full of lush plants and singing birds. Rich and lively and… Home. He had grown up here since washing up as a fry, some thousand years ago. Though, for the past three-hundred, he’d been having some interesting adventures.

Coming back was always refreshing. When Maui had suggested they stop in the way, Tamatoa didn’t even consider objecting. Why would he?

Moving through the forest, down familiar paths so old and ground in that the plants had yet to retake them, he explored his territory leisurely. Prey and fruit both were still plentiful. And the cherry on top? His den remained his. Despite how close the island was to three separate tunnels down to Lalotai, his den and his hoard had both been left alone.

A pleased chortle rolled in his throat when he stepped inside, down the short embankment into the main chamber. Tapestries still hung, and the hoard not important enough to be stuck to his back remained piled neatly in an organization system only he understood. Humming happily to himself, he moved to the largest pile – mostly coins and gemstones – and used it for its explicit purpose. He sat down, shimmied so he sank into the pile of treasure, and leaned down to let some of the coins slip through his fingers.

An old habit he never outgrew. Started with sand, but this? This was so much better. Felt wondrous on the thick chitin covering most of his body. Granted, it felt nice on the fleshy, human skin, too.

He nearly dozed off. His antennae drooped, and he had long since laid out on his front, legs neatly folded under with pincers to either side and arms folded to pillow his head. So, when he felt it, he felt it in his whole body. Through his exoskeleton, down to his bones, up through his antennae.

Tamatoa shot upright, coins flying everywhere. He recognized that rumble.

Volcano.

His mind raced as he rushed outside, glancing around. And his eyes widened in horror as he watched the mountain at the island’s center, in the great caldera-like crater, begin to smoke. In his entire time living here… it had NEVER done that. But it was.

“Maui!” He shouted at the top of his lungs as he ran for the beach. “Maui, man! We gotta go!”

Panting, he nearly fell over when the caldera’s mountain exploded.

“Maui! Where the fuck are you?!” He could barely hear himself over the roar of falling rocks and cracking earth. “Maui!”

A rush of hot air swept down from the mountain, rustling the plants around him. Tensing, he turned and gazed at it. A wave of black and red was coming toward him. Surging out like a tsunami of fire and soot.

He wouldn’t make it to the boat.

Tamatoa sprinted for the beach. Moving faster than he probably ever had in his life. He skidded to a stop at the ridge, over the water. He glanced around, preparing to shout for his friend. The words curled up and died in his throat as he watched Maui run off a nearby cliff, shift into a hawk, and fly away.

Without him.

“MAUI!”

The demigod glanced back, something green and shiny in his talons. Maui’s gaze returned forward. And he flew off.

The lava roared behind him. Tamatoa glanced back in time to see a massive demon of fire lash out toward Maui. Tamatoa jumped off the ridge and turned, his dactyls skittering over the stone. But the lava was coming too fast. A single glance down at the waves crashing below. Burn to death, or drown. What a great choice.

He let go. A shout left him as he fell into the water. A surge of wave slammed him into rock, dislodging his favorite treasures. Another surge pushed him up against the undercrop. Coughing and sputtering, struggling to keep his head above water, Tamatoa watched as ribbons of lava slithered down. It hissed and sputtered.

Pained screams left him as the water started to boil. He wasn’t burning or drowning. He was being COOKED. His legs flailed and he pushed up against an unmoving rock surface. Fighting for room. For air. There was a crack from one of his dactyls as a droplet of lava smacked it, cracking the chitin before being cooled and swept off by water.

Panic. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t see. Fire. Lava. Burning. Hot.

A gurgle came behind him. Cool water from the sea pushed forward and wrapped around him. Tamatoa shrieked as he was pulled outwards through fire and water and smoke. He was pulled under. And then…

And then he was being carried by something. As he panted, trying to calm his racing heart, he saw Kai, the sea itself, was carrying him away from the damage. Mind reeling, he glanced around, and watched as the lava demon knocked Maui out of the sky.

He was taken to their hokule'a, which had been pulled out into the water. Flying debris had burned a few holes in the sail, but he could make do. As soon as he was set down to stand, he collapsed with a pained shout at the searing agony in his legs. He had been burned, inside and out. Shaking, he bent, one hand braced on the deck. He retched against the back of his other hand, against his bracelets. The pain was the most intense he’d ever felt. Enough to make his stomach lurch, his ears ring, and his vision go hazy white.

Peering down, he saw the crack in his front left dactyl. He’d have to molt, but it was a clean, singular crack up by the knee joint rather than a shatter. A small sliver of good news.

Holding still, the pain dulled to a low, throbbing ache. An ache buried under the chaotic mess of his thoughts. Maui had left him. Had seen him, and had ABANDONED him. His hawk form was large and strong enough to carry Tamatoa, and that form’s eyesight was impeccable, but he had LEFT him there. Left him to die like the rest of the island.

Tamatoa’s gaze swept to Motu Putiputi. It was covered in blackened char and bubbling lava. Devoid of life. He could smell death from the former forest, and from the few human villages once speckling its surface.

Dead. All dead. The air reeked of it, his antennae folding back against his head. His eyes stung.

Then, his vacant expression shifted. Grief, sadness, shifted in favor of… Anger. Beyond anger. Rage. Frothing, raw fury. 

Turning to where he’d seen Maui fall, Tamatoa lifted his antennae, searching for his scent. Once he found it, he forced his legs to carry him to the back of the boat and steered in that direction, praying for a strong wind… and the strength not to outright murder the demigod.

\---------

Over the two weeks he’d spent sailing, following the scent on the wind, the ache in his legs began to fade. There was still the odd twinge if he moved too fast. But he was recovering, and that was good.

At first, his anger died down to a simmer. There had to be a reason. But every time he remembered how Maui had looked back at him and kept flying away, it sparked back to life all over again. It came in waves. Like a storm surge.

When he reached the island and heard Maui arguing one-sidedly with Kai, Tamatoa felt it all bubble up like the lava that had destroyed his home and nearly killed him.

“You! You son of a bitch!” Tamatoa shouted, lunging off the boat as soon as it hit sand.

Maui whirled around in surprise, and put on one of his best hello-adoring-fan smile. “Tamatoa, my man! Glad to see you!”

“Glad to see me? GLAD TO SEE ME?! You left me to die! You saw me on the ridge and abandoned me after you blew up my home!”

“Hey, now! I—”

“I know it was you! I saw it in your talons when you left me!”

Maui glanced aside with a familiar I’m-about-to-lie-my-ass-off laugh. “Saw what? Dunno what you’re—”

“The Heart! The Heart of Te Fiti! Not once has that volcano erupted in over a thousand years! You stole it, blew up my home, left me…!” Tamatoa’s anger was frothing, now, hands clenched into fists and his pincers snapping threateningly. “Give me ONE good reason why I shouldn’t kill you. A DAMN good one.”

The demigod tensed, realizing his usual charm and banter weren’t going to fly. “Look. I’m sorry I left you. But that lava demon was right on top of me!”

If looks could kill, Maui would be dead a dozen times over.

“I don’t wanna fight you, buddy.”

“No. You wanted the demon you unleashed to do that for you.”

“That’s not—”

“Give it back.” Tamatoa growled.

“Give what back?” Maui took a half-step back, moving into a more ready stance.

“The Heart, you bastard!”

“I don’t have it anymore! It fell out of my hand! Along with my hook!”

“Well, that sucks for you!” With that, he lunged.

The pair grappled. They had sparred before. Many times, over their 300 years together. Maui carefully avoided the monster’s pincers. But he was decked across the jaw for his troubles. It sent him sprawling backwards. Were he human, that punch would’ve killed him.

A claw stabbed down toward him. Maui rolled aside. Looking away from the spray of sand, he levered upwards. Tamatoa jolted away before he could be flipped over. The demigod grabbed his pincer by the arm and spun him aside. He landed with knees and one hand in the sand. He threw a handful of it. Maui grunted as it stung his eyes and he swung a fist. He still managed to nail Tamatoa in the ribs, making him rasp and stumble as he sidestepped.

The fight only intensified as Maui’s temper mounted to match his own. Blood was drawn. Bruises made. Several dents were put in Tamatoa’s shell. Several scratches marring Maui’s flesh. But in his own anger, Tamatoa miscalculated. Even without his hook, Maui was formidable.

He slammed Maui against the ground, pincher round his neck. Ready to snip his head off.

Maui’s hand moved fast as a snake.

Pain sang up Tamatoa’s front left dactyl. He screamed, backing off the demigod and stumbling, falling part onto his side. Staring down, he saw half of his leg had been broken off. Bluish blood oozed from the wound. The pain was dizzying, his vision white at the edges. White faded to dark when a fist nailed his cheek, and again, and again.

He was hauled up by his pincers and thrown, tumbling over the wave-swept rocks at the side of the small island. His shell was chipped in several places. Pieces of his treasure still there fell into the surf. Saltwater splashing his broken-off leg made him hiss and weakly back up, until he felt a foot hit his shell and push down.

“Sorry, crab cake. But you should learn to pick your fights better.” Hands grabbed under Tamatoa’s jaw.

The cold jolt of fear sent him standing and twisting. Maui cried out as the crab monster rolled bodily. Crushing the demigod under his shell and against the rocks with enough momentum to end up on his legs again. Bits of his hoard glittered in the sand, but he didn’t care. Dazed, Maui barely saw the rock coming at his face before it was lights out.

Panting, Tamatoa dropped the rock and threw the demigod aside, back onto the sand by the cave entrance. He collapsed to sit and turned to peer at his leg. He felt lightheaded, shivering.

The hook, he thought disjointedly. He had to find the hook and make sure Maui never got it back. If it sank…

“Lalotai…” Tamatoa sighed, frowning.

Peering at the demigod, he saw Maui well and truly was unconscious. Once absolutely sure, he forced his shaking legs to support himself and stumbled his way to the boat. Quietly, he prayed to Kai to take him to the entrance to the dark below, but glanced back once final time.

“Goodbye, and good riddance!”

\---------


End file.
